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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JULY 2015 4 News JURGEN BALZAN SHADOW education minister and MEP Therese Comodini Cachia has insisted she is fulfill- ing contractual obligations at the University of Malta requiring her to spend four half-days a week and a lecturing-load of 98 hours of lectures every scholastic year. In an answer to a parliamentary question tabled by Labour back- bencher Anthony Agius Decelis, education minister Evarist Bar- tolo said that Comodini Cachia is contracted to "give four sessions of four hours each per week." But speaking to MaltaToday, Comodini Cachia did not confirm the number of hours she works a week, instead saying that she lec- tures for a number of hours every week as well as "undertak[ing] the academic coordination of a post- graduate programme, correct as- signments, exams and form part of examining boards on theses submitted by the faculty students. A couple of years ago I also ful- filled my obligation in attaining a Ph.D." On Saturday, the MEP's spokes- person told MaltaToday that the Comodini Cachia had a packed schedule and could not answer further questions to determine the precise number of hours she puts in at the university, In his reply to the PQ, Bartolo had specified that apart from lec- turing, Comodini Cachia is ex- pected to carry out research and other academic duties, including administrative and professional work, and that she had a lecturing load of 98 hours over and above her research and administrative duties. Apart from her busy schedule as MEP, Comodini Cachia is em- ployed as a lecturer on an €18,000 salary, and under the terms of a collective agreement must spend four half-days working at the uni- versity. The 2014/15 scholastic year timetables seen by MaltaToday allot Comodini Cachia a total 30 hours of lectures in the first semes- ter for the Masters' programme in human rights. The lectures were held on Mondays and Fridays. The university website also shows a total lecturing portfolio of six credit, but no information was found about her lecturing duties in the remaining credits. Comodini Cachia explained that she has lectured at the University of Malta on a part-time basis for a number of years. "I started lectur- ing only a couple of years follow- ing my graduation, taking on the role of lecturer and academic co- ordinator of a postgraduate degree offered by the Faculty of Laws," she said. The shadow minister said that following her election as MEP in 2014, "like most other MPs, I decided to retain my contractual terms with the University but have given up my lecturing at foreign universities." Comodini Cachia insisted that she still performs the same duties as stipulated by her contract. "I still hold lectures and meetings according to the lecturing sched- ule assigned. As you are aware I am not resident in Brussels, but have retained full residency in Malta. This gives me time during each week for me to be at Univer- sity." She said that when lectures are scheduled on days when the MEP is in Brussels lectures are held through video-conferencing facili- ties available at the University of Malta. In reply to whether she is ful- filling all obligations, Comodini Cachia said: "if I didn't believe that I could give students my utter best I would not have retained my commitments. Nor would I con- tinuously develop the programme of studies I coordinate for the stu- dents to obtain an even better ex- perience." MATTHEW VELLA LANDS parliamentary secretary Michael Falzon has denied hav- ing been asked to step down from his post by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, over the controversial 'Gaffarena expropriation'. Falzon instead yesterday turned his guns on the Opposition leader, in reaction to criticism he received over having taken a €260,000 golden handshake from Bank of Valletta on becoming a member of the cabinet. Speaking on Radju Malta's Ghandi Xi Nghid, Falzon took umbrage that Busuttil had "gone for the jugular" when he had as- sisted Simon Busuttil when the latter requested his help during his time as a lawyer at Bank of Valletta. Falzon declared his €260,000 early retirement package from BOV in his ministerial declara- tions. He also retains the right to return to his job on condition that he returns his retirement benefit on a pro rata basis. "If someone truly knows the kind of service I gave at BOV, it's the Opposition leader," an irked Falzon said, referring to himself in the third person. "When he needed help from Michael Falzon, not only did Michael Falzon help him… he went out of his way, helped him personally… I have helped eve- ryone in 35 years of impeccable service, having been the most qualified of the lawyers there." Contacted for a reaction, a spokesperson for the PN said the episode Falzon referred to was an inquiry into who the person re- sponsible for loans at BOV was. The spokesperson said that the "favour" Falzon claimed to have done involved providing the con- tact details of a bank manager to the PN leader, which he did by sending a message to MP David Agius. "The episode happened in 2013, when Busuttil and Falzon were walking out of the old Parliament in Valletta and the PN leader asked Falzon who he should talk to over a bridge loan he needed for his house in Brussels," the spokesperson said. In his declaration of assets sub- mitted in 2014, Busuttil declared a loan of €190,000 and the bank's sanction letter for a €200,000 loan which he had not yet taken up. No 'Gaffarena payback' Michael Falzon has denied that the Old Mint Street expropriation was a 'payback' to businessman Marco Gaffarena for what could have been Gaffarena's support in the 2013 electoral campaign. The parliamentary secretary, whose stewardship of the Lands Department and the expropria- tion of a Valletta palazzo housing government offices is the subject of two administrative investiga- tions, yesterday hit out at the Opposition's accusations in his regard. "Opposition leader Simon Bu- suttil himself has stated that he does not suspect me of having pocketed anything," Falzon said of the controversial, fast-track €1.65 million compensation to expro- priate Gaffarena's 50% ownership of the Old Mint Street house. "If there's one shortcoming here, it's that the procedures left in place were inherited from the pre- vious administration under Jason Azzopardi," he said of the former lands minister. "And the procedures were fol- lowed," Falzon said of the way Gaffarena got an €825,000 cash payment, and lands that Gaffare- na himself selected to add to his extensive property portfolio. Both the National Audit Office, as well as the prime minister's Internal Audit and Investigations Department, are investigating the expropriation. But Falzon was chipper through- out the interview, twice asking presenter Andrew Azzopardi to "call [him] Michael", and at vari- ous moments referring to himself in the third person. "Three-quar- ters of the press already has that expropriation file. I am sure that there is nothing wrong about this expropriation. I say this with God as my witness, I have no problem in saying this." MEP says she still fulfills university obligations 'I wasn't told to resign' – Michael Falzon Shadow minister for education has lecture load of 98 hours in university job that she juggles with her busy MEP's career Shadow education minister Therese Comodini Cachia juggles an MEP's career with an onerous workload as a university lecturer